The Unappreciated Prodigy
by hidden-pawn64
Summary: During the sealing, the Yonaime spilt the Kyuubi's chakra the yin into his daughter and yang into Naruto. Neglected over his sister, Naruto grows up forgotten and unappreciated. Till they realize their mistake but can they heal the rift with Naruto?
1. Chapter 1

Hey, first shot at writing a fanfic. So any constructive criticism would be nice thank! No pairings, there could be but so far it doesn't look like it. Not god like naruto but close to it. Inspired by Rise from the Shadow by **vsizzel** but with my own twist.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

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><p>"Tou-san! Kaa-san! I did it! I did it! Did you see that!" a girl about 8 years old cheered as sensed her chakra and attempted to use it. She had long blood red hair with a small tinge of blond at the tips, with bluish-violet eyes and had a round face. She was 3'1" (honestly don't know how tall an eight year old is) wearing a yellow shirt with Uzumaki symbol and combat pants.<p>

"Great job, Narumi-chan!" cheered a man with spiky blond hair with to long bangs down the side of his face. He had cerulean blue eyes and an angular face. The symbol of most fangirls affection. He wore a white long sleeve shirt with dark sweatpants. Stood about 5'10". This was Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage of the Konohagakure. Also know as the Yellow Flash of Konoha. Presently, he was watching his daughter train. "You'll a great kunoichi in no time." said a redhead who just saw her daughter call out chakra. Said redhead stands about 5'7", who's hair was blood red hair and had a angelic face. She wore a yellow hair clip in her hair, and wore a simple red shirt and sweatpants. She had the body that women die for and men have instant nosebleeds. With long slender arms and legs honed thru training and impressive bust ranging C-cup to D-cup. This was Kushina Uzumaki Namikaze, wife of Minato Namikaze and Konoha's Red Death.

"Thanks mom! I can't wait until I become a great kunoichi like you!" Narumi replied with a smile. Both Minato and Kushina smiled at the girl's energy and attitude.

In the distance stood a boy who was the same age as Narumi. He had wild spiky blond hair that defied gravity, sapphire blue eyes and similar round face. Stood about 3'5" and was wearing a dark gray shirt with black sweatpants. He looked normal but, with one exception. He had three whisker marks on each of his face. His name was Naruto Namikaze, son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki Namikaze and older twin of Narumi Namikaze.

Presently Naruto was glaring at the tender family scene that was happening at the family's private training ground. He sighed and walked away to his room where he did his own training. When Naruto got to his room, he laid down on his bed and remembered what happen a long time ago that made to be what he is.

**FLASHBACK 4 YEARS AGO**

**"**Hey tou-san can you teach how to do cool ninja stuff!" asked a eager Naruto who was hoping he would say yes.

"Sorry Naruto, I can't. I have to teach Narumi." replied Minato, Naruto frowned at that.

"Why can't you teach us both at the same time!" argued Naruto ignoring the smug look his sister was giving him.

"Sorry Naruto but I don't have the time to do that." Naruto was about to continue arguing until his mother spoke.

"Naruto go to your room and don't ask your father again. He will teach you when he feels that you are ready." said Kushina in a demanding tone. Not wanting to argue with his mother, looked at the ground and walked to his room.

"Why can't I learn how to be a shin obi but Narumi can? How come she gets everything." Naruto said out loud to himself when he reached his room and closed the door.

Naruto would be considered a prodigy; if any would pay attention to him. He was smart beyond reason, and had skills to learn at an abnormal rate. If anyone ever really payed any real attention to him, they would compare him to Itachi Uchiha. So, it didn't take him long to figure out that his family favored his sister more than him, seeing as she got mostly everything she wanted. He also notice the villagers treated her like a hero. While him, the pariah of the village.

Naruto got barely anything, even on his birthday. He would maybe get one or two gifts while Narumi got plenty. When he would walk in the village alone, he would receive cold glares from the villagers. His sister also had a lot of friends; every kid would try to get to know her. While he didn't have any friends, they would avoid him.

Naruto knows that his sister has the Kyuubi's Yin chakra and he has the Kyuubi's Yang chakra. It didn't make any sense to him why they would treat him any different than him. But Naruto assumes that they think that because he has the Yang chakra that he would be corrupt by its evil power. That made some sense to him as he thought about it but his parents? Just because she made contact with the Kyuubi when she was three that they could favor him over him. He decided to close his eyes and get some rest.

**Mindscape**

Naruto suddenly woke up to see that he was in a sewer and some giant gate was in front of him with a seal. Not knowing where he was he called "Hey! Anyone there?" His response was a ferocious roar from the other side of gate, scaring him.

**"Who dares to disturb my slumber!"** roared a giant beast, which Naruto could make out as a fox with redish-orange fur and nine lone tails. He just stood there too scared and shocked to do anything. The fox looked down and saw Naruto and started to chuckle.

**"****So my jailor finally graces me with his presence."** said the fox. Naruto got out of his shock and looked at the fox with fear written on his face.

"Y-y-you're the Kyuubi." Naruto stuttered out, who shakily pointed at the giant fox. The Kyuubi nodded its head. "A-a-are you going to kill me?" The Kyuubi chuckled and shook its head and look at him.

**"If I wasn't in this cage I would but you interest me. I looked at your memories and I must say this village is filled with idiots."** The Kyuubi said, and Naruto was confused and scared slightly. He tilted his head to show that he was confused. The Kyuubi saw this and continued. **" Your father, who did the sealing, spilt my power into you and your sister and sealed it. This is also why he is still alive instead in Shinigami's stomach. Seeing that Shinigami didn't seal all of me into one of you, decided to spilt my power. But he probably lost about a fourth of his life."** Naruto nodded showing that he understood it and is taking the information in slowly.

**"Your father is training your sister early because he thinks my Yin chakra is trying to get out. Which is true but he should be training you more** ." said Kyuubi. Naruto looked at the Kyuubi in confusion at the part. "Why I do agree that he should be training me also and not just her but why me more?" Naruto asked.

"**My Yin chakra is... calmer than my Yang chakra would be the best way to put it. Since I'm the Yang chakra, I am much hard to control. And I will make more of an attempt to break out than my Yin chakra." **Naruto nodded that he understoodbut didn't understand the difference between the Yin and Yang chakras. "Is there a difference between them? Except what you said though." asked Naruto

**"Yes there is. Both chakra's give a healing ability, yours is stronger than your sister's. You will have huge chakra reserves but horrible control. Your sister will still have larger reserves than most shinobi but have much better control over her chakra. Now this would be the case if you both were the same but luckily this isn't case since your a so called genius. Am I right?" **stated the Kyuubi. Naruto slowly nodded understanding what the Kyuubi said. "But why do the villagers treat me differently than Narumi?" asked Naruto.

**"Many people died during my attack on your village, many lost family, friends, and loved ones. The villagers assumes since that you contain my Yang chakra, they think you contain my evil spirit. So when they see you, it reminds of their pain of the people they lost. They think you are the Kyuubi and that is why they hate you boy."**

Naruto nodded sadly understanding what the Kyuubi was telling him and looked at the ground sadly, believing that the villagers were right. The Kyuubi saw this and said **"Boy, do not think you are ME. You are my jailor and I your prisoner. As much as I hate too say it, you are their guardian from me. Even if I was ripped from your mother by that bastard." **the Kyuubi mumbled the last part. Naruto heard that last part. "Who are you talking about?" asked Naruto.

**"It doesn't matter, right now. I have offer for you though."**

"What offer?"

**"I'll open a link so we can communicate without going into your mindscape."**

"Why would you do that?"

**"To assist you in your training. You're waking up from your nap right now, so prepare because I will not have a weak container."** Naruto nodded happy to train even if his reasons are selfish. Naruto faded out of his mindscape and woke up in his bed.

**FLASHBACK END**

Throughout the years, Naruto has and still has been training till he drops everyday. Everyday he would train himself until exhaustion and couldn't move. He usually train in his room or in a secret training ground where he couldn't be caught.

Since, he just was a child, he couldn't lift weights or would stun his growth. So Kyuubi set up a routine for him to follow everyday. Naruto work mostly on his endurance and did exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups. He also focused on his chakra control since he had really high reserves which currently at mid chunin to high chunin.

He would do his daily routine which consisted of one hundred and fifty push-ups followed by one hundred and fifty sit-ups. It usually took him an hour and a half to complete, then take a small break and then do same with pull-ups and crunches this also took about an hour and a half. After that he would run around the village five times, which took two and a half hours, and final spend three hours focus on his chakra control and his sensor ability that he discovered three months before he turned seven. He did this everyday and never took any shortcuts.

Eventually he grew interested in seals and began to read about fuinjutsu, he assumed it ran in the family seeing that his father and mother were seal masters. He started to basic seals like the storage seal. He figured out how to make a basic storage from scratch, but during his study he came across a seal that caught his attention. It was called a gravity seal, which applies extra gravity on you making it harder to move but when you released it you became faster. Naruto knew this would help his training his greatly, but it would stunt his growth and it could be harmful to his body. So he continued to look until he came upon a the resistance seal. Similar to the gravity seal but instead of increasing gravity, it increase the resistance of every movement. So with the help with the Kyuubi he figure out how to apply to himself and to work it.

During his training he went to the library, like the Kyuubi told him, to read some books or scrolls on jutsu, tactics, history, and chakra control and affinity. Impressed by the boy's determination and drive to become stronger and survive, on his seventh birthday he taught him the **Kage bushin no Jutsu** (Shadow Clone Jutsu) and told him the secret of it, how when a clone dispels the user receive all its information and experience. Naruto was surprised on how useful the **Kage bushin no Jutsu **was and how it could greatly boost his training.

Even with all this good, the bad out weighed it. As time went on, the villagers went from cold glares to beats here and there. Once every few weeks, a crowd would corner Naruto and beat him senseless. Nothing to crazy happened because he still was the son of their beloved Yondaime but they still put him in his place. At first, he fought back but quickly realized it just made it worse. So now he just lets them beat him even thought it didn't really hurt him at all since they were just civilian punches.

The children at Naruto's age wouldn't talk or hang out with him; instead they would all flaunt over Narumi or give him cold glares. People only tried to be his friend so they could get close to her. At the academy, he was ignored. It didn't bother Naruto since he was on his own since the beginning.

There were a few people that befriended him. Them being Ibiki Morino, Anko Mitarashi, Yugao Uzuki, Hayate Gekko, Izumo Kamizuki, Kotetsu Hagane, Itachi Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha. Ibiki, Anko, Yugao, Hayate, Izumo, and Kotetsu helped Naruto a couple times when the villagers beat him, after he became friends but decide he stay a safe distance away from them so that the villagers wouldn't hurt them too.

Itachi found him in the middle of his training and watched in silence. He was impressed by his determination and hard work and talked to him. He asked why Naruto was training by himself and not with his family. Naruto gave a simple answer "I am nothing to them, only extra baggage." Itachi was shocked but understood what he meant, as he often had seen Naruto walking behind his family with an expressionless face. After that Itachi often visited Naruto as much as he could and help Naruto with his training, seeing Naruto the same as him. Itachi even saved from an assassination by Iwa missing-nin.

**FLASHBACK**

Naruto had just discovered that he was a sensor barely a month ago and was working with Itachi to increase its range and strength. Right now, his range without focusing is ten yards, he just finished his routine and was about to start on training his sensor ability. Nearby him was a chunin Iwa missing-nin, glaring hatefully at the son of his nation's greatest enemy. He became a missing-nin when he failed at an assassination on a minor lord and was spotted. He greatly missed his home but brought dishonor to it. So he thought if he brought the head of the Yellow Flashes's son, he would be given a hero's welcome.

As he slowly came behind the boy to slit his throat, he had no idea he was spotted by Naruto. Naruto sensed his assassin when began to broaden his range to see if Itachi was near he found him thirty yards away. Naruto remained calm and acted like he didn't know he was there but was getting ready to cast a jutsu that Itachi showed him a few days ago. Just as the would be assassin was no more than ten yards away, Naruto turned around and yelled **"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"** (Fire release: Great Fire ball Jutsu)He shot a fire ball about fifteen yards in diameter at the Iwa missing-nin. This was the scene Itachi came to, Naruto shooting a large fireball at a Iwa nin who barely got out of the way but suffer burns on his arms and torso. Itachi went into ANBU mode and kill the missing-nin with one stroke. Once he confirmed the man's death, he turn to Naruto to check if he was injured. "Naruto, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Itachi asked with concern edged in his emotionless face. "Yes, I'm ok. Thank you. Who was that ninja?" asked Naruto who relived that Itachi saved him.

"A missing-nin from Iwa, I assume he was here for you. I will inform Hokag-"

"No. Don't."

Itachi looked at him concern and shock." Naruto, we must tell Hokage-sama of this so he can have ANBU protect you. You do understand what just happened."

"Remember, I am nothing more than extra baggage. Please don't tell, if you do they won't let leave the house and I won't be able to train." Naruto pleaded with the man who he looked up to like a older brother.

Itachi sighed, Naruto was right. On both points, sadly. He looked at kid in front of him who he saw as little brother."Fine. I won't tell Hokage-sama or anyone else." he pause for a moment and gave him a small smile " Good job with jutsu, ototo. I'm proud of you."

Naruto to looked at with tears in his eyes and hugged him and said "Thank you, onisan."

**FLASHBACK END**

Since the attack he push Naruto harder than before to make sure he is ready. Itachi tested for his elemental affinity and was shocked when he found that Naruto had not one, not two but three. Naruto was just as shocked because he read that most only had one and two was rare but three? Naruto had a Wind, Water, and Fire affinity, The Kyuubi told Naruto that he had a Fire because of him and the others were from his parents. Naruto pondered that for a second and thought neither his father or mother and a wind affinity but decided not to look a gift in the horse mouth. Itachi, when discovered that his affinities he taught Naruto two jutsus: **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind release: Gale Palm) and **Suiton: Mizurappa **(Water release: Raging Waves).

Mikoto Uchiha saw Naruto walking around Konoha alone one day. She asked why he wasn't with his parents but, she received the same answer as Itachi. Mikoto was furious and was about to march over to the Namikaze estate and give them both a piece of her mind. Naruto told it didn't matter but she wasn't listening and dragged him with her to the estate. He remembered what happen then. He still shudders just thinking about it.

**FLASHBACK 1YEAR AGO**

Mikoto charged into the Namikaze estate dragging Naruto with her, who shaking in fear at the rage and fury Mikoto had in her and was glad he wasn't on the receiving end of it.

"Kushina Namikaze! Come out here Now!" yelled an enraged Mikoto. Moments later Kushina and Minato came to the front door to find Mikoto holding their son. Naruto at this moment would rather wrestle the Kyuubi than face her. The Kyuubi could only nod in agreement.

"Mikoto, why are you here and why is Naruto with you?" asked a confused Kushina, she thought that Naruto was in his room.

"I'm here because I found your son walking around Konoha alone!" replied Mikoto loudly.

"Really! Oh! Thanks Mikoto-chan for finding my we will take it from here, thank you." Said Minato telling Naruto to go to his room, which he did. Though Minato stayed back so he can hear the rest of the conversation since Mikoto didn't go home yet.

"Did you even know that he was outside?" asked Mikoto still pretty angry.

"No but I thank you again for finding him." replied Kushina. Mikoto narrowed her eyes and in the corner of her eyes, she saw Narumi was training in the family training ground. This brought a question that she wanted to ask them.

"Why is Narumi training to be a ninja early while Naruto is sent to his room."

"We decide to train her early."

"And why not Naruto?", Mikoto's voice getting colder by the second, which was starting to scare Kushina and Minato.

"That's because Narumi accessed the Kyuubi sealed in her early and she needs to know how to control it, we will start teaching Naruto when he is in the academy." Mikoto stood there glaring there with hot-white fury at the two."I understand. Sorry for asking a stupid question Namikaze-san." Minato and Kushina flinch at the sudden change in their friend but just tossed it aside thinking it wasn't anything serious. Mikoto turned around and walked away too mad to say goodbye.

**FLASHBACK END**

After that, Mikoto would always help him as best as she could. Sometimes cooking him lunch or giving him advice on his training. She tried to get Sasuke to befriend him but to her disappointment he adopted his father personality at a very early age, which was being arrogant to the max. Sasuke would state that Naruto wasn't worth his time or that the Uchiha are the best.

As time went his relation with his family became worse. As his parents trained his sister in the family styles and jutsu, Naruto would watch in the background always hoping for any attention. When they went out he would suggest something, while his sister would suggest something else, and too Naruto's disappointment they always chose whatever Narumi would suggest. After awhile of hoping and watching he gave up and trained even harder to show them that he didn't need them. He stayed in his room not bothering to go out and talk with his family. The only time he saw them during the day would be at dinner but even then stay silent, he would just finish his food as fast as he could , wash his own dishes and go to his room and train.

Whenever they go out on walks around the village he would always stay a few feet back from the rest of the family while Narumi would usually lead. He avoid attention as much as possible by being quiet or staying in corners where no one would see him. During parties he would only be there for an hour or so until he got tired and left. Narumi would sometimes ask him to play with her but always declined and said he was busy.

On his free time, Naruto would usual read books about the shinobi wars, jutsu theory, seals or anything ninja related. He also painted and drew on his free time. When his parents weren't near he would try on improving his fuinjutsu, in hopes that he could surpass his parents since they were seal masters.

Naruto finished the first part of his daily routine. He took a short break, walked to his desk and stared outside wondering why he didn't just run. The rational part of him told him that he would be hunted down and brought back and put under surveillance. All he do is wait till became a chunin and moved out and get away from this house. Naruto sighed,'_Another day in paradise.' _he thought. Then he look at the calendar. Today was Oct. 8, only two days till his and Narumi's Birthday.

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><p><strong>Hoped you enjoyed it. Please review. Gonna try to update every few days or so.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, first shot at writing a fanfic. So any constructive criticism would be nice thank! No pairings, there could be but so far it doesn't look like it. Not god like naruto but close to it. Itachi-like Naruto. Inspired by Rise from the Shadow by **vsizzel** but with my own twist.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

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><p><strong>Hokage Office<strong>

Minato Namikaze was doing paperwork, something every kage hated to do. He was currently looking at a forum that said to release the civilians that were in jail, for hurting his son. He realized that announcing that Narumi had the Yin chakra and Naruto had the Yang chakra was a bad decision. The villagers were quite narrow-minded sometimes. Assuming that because his son contains the Yang chakra that its evil and will corrupt him. When its the physical energy of Kyuubi only. He knows as a father he shouldn't let them go but he was torn between duty and family.

He understood the villagers pain, just how much they lost during the attack. They needed a scapegoat, something to help heal the pain even if was wrong. He couldn't just released them without any punishment but couldn't punish them too harshly. He gave them three months and a fine of 38,480 ryo (which is about $5000). He just hope Naruto could forgive him and the villagers would get over their prejudice. He was about to do more paperwork till he felt a familiar presence behind him.

"Jiraiya, what brings you here? Hopefully not your "research"." asked Minato while he was writing the punishment out.

"What can't a man visit an old student?" said Jiraiya.

"So besides peeping on women, why are you here?"

"The toads summoned me and told me a prophecy similar to the one they gave me earlier."

"Really?" asked Minato. He remember when Jiraiya told him the prophecy the toads gave him. " What did they say?"

"The prophecy said the chosen one is a child born from two powerful shinobi and keeps a great darkness at bay. There is more but it won't be revealed until later. I assume it means Narumi because she met the Kyuubi when she was three. And was hoping you would let her sign the toad contract." Minato nodded in understanding what his old sensei was saying. But then frowned when he thought about Naruto.

"So you believe its her? What about Naruto? He could be it too." asked Minato

"Possible but, has he meet the Kyuubi though?"

"No, he hasn't at least I think he hasn't. I'm not sure though. He really just keeps to himself mostly." Minato said sadly.

"At least he didn't meet it yet. Would you rather him meet it as a child or when he is older? He's quite fortunate to not have meet it yet. So can I let her sign it?" asked a hopeful Jiraiya. Minato gave him a smile and nodded. Jiraiya grinned at that, his next possible student would be from his student's family.

"Well, since I done here. My research is calling me, later gaki." Jiraiya giggled and disappeared in a shunshin. Minato chuckled at his sensei's actions. He sighed and looked at his paperwork and swore it grew. He still can't figure out how to beat it. Damn Sarutobi! Didn't tell how bad the paperwork can get.

He decided to take a small break and look at the village. Then thought about his family and how much they have grown as one. How happy they were him, Kushina, Narumi, and Naruto. But, when he thought about Naruto he frowned. After refusing to teach him he started to distance himself from the rest of the family. He remember when Naruto asking to go somewhere together but went with Narumi's over his. As time went on, Naruto's request became less and less frequent until they eventually stopped asking for anything. He evened showed his face less around the house. He either was in his room or outside and at dinnertime, he would be silent focusing on his food while he ate. He only saw him at dinner and when him and Narumi walked to the academy. He cursed himself how he could he ignore his child over another. Minato regretted what he did him and promised he would do anything to make up to him. He decided he was start his training like he should of all those years ago and bring him back into the family he swore.

**Namikaze Estate**

Presently, Kushina was making the family's favorite dinner. She too felt that Naruto wasn't part of the family. Every time both Naruto and Narumi would come home, he would either go to his room or drop his stuff off and leave until dinner. Even at dinner he would stay silent and just focus on his dinner. When they walked around the village, he would always stay several few back and remain quiet and emotionless. She noticed that he read a lot, which was good, and wish Narumi do some as well. But he read too much and would go out but never say where. She wonder did he have any friends. She truly regrets not training Naruto with Narumi but believed she need extra attention due to her experience with the Kyuubi. As a former junchuuriki, she knows how hard it is to control the Kyuubi is. Kushina was worried. She didn't want him to isolate himself from the family. She knew she had to do something to bring him back and when he walked through the door she, like her husband, was going to make it up to him. Her family was gonna be whole again.

**In Konoha**

"Naruto-nii-chan, where are you?" Narumi shouted. Narumi looked around Konoha trying to find her Aniki. After class finished, she wanted to walk home with Naruto. But to her disappointment, he disappeared when she tried to look for him.

"Naruto-nii-chan!" she shouted again, hoping Naruto would answer back this time. When she received nothing in return, she frowned and continued to walk home. She loved her aniki and tried to get him to play with her but he always turned her down saying he had stuff to do. She wanted Naruto to feel like family and not an outcast. During the academy, Narumi noticed he either slept or looked out the window. She noticed that he didn't try to socialize with anyone in class nor the classmates try to talk to him. Narumi made attempts to talk to him in class but her fan club would bombard. When she got rid of them, Naruto disappeared.

She started to remember the past and she immediately got sick at herself. She remembered when she was little after her dad told Naruto the he had to train her first, she always rubbed it in his face about it and teased him too. She would say that the family loved her more or show Naruto what she learned to make fun of him. When Naruto suggested somewhere to go, she would say a different place to go to and they always chose over his. Remembering these things, made her feel really ashamed.

Narumi walked home alone, without Naruto again. While she walked home, she suddenly remembered that tomorrow was both their birthday. She smiled and thought of a plan, to get her aniki back with the family. She ran home as soon as she finished her plan and was gonna started it the moment she reached the house.

**Namikaze Estate**

Kushina was still cooking dinner, making the family's favorite food, ramen. She heard the door open and turned to see who was at the door and saw the Minato at the door taking off his shinobi sandals.

"Got off work early, honey?" asked Kushina. Minato looked up to see his wife in an apron cooking dinner. He gave a small smile and nodded "Yeah, I did." he told her and walked into the kitchen with her. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and saw that concern was written on her face and could guess what she was concern about. "Naruto." he simply said.

"Huh?" she said.

"You're concern that Naruto is not part of the family."

"How did you know I was thinking about that?"

"Because I was thinking the same thing in the office." He neglected to say what brought it up though.

"So you felt it too. I feel like he isn't part of the family any more." She said sadly and started to tear up. Minato hugged her from behind and tried to comfort her.

"I know what you mean. I have idea that might help. After the birthday party I'll be starting his training." Minato replied trying to comfort his wife. Kushina looked at Minato with a smile on her face.

"I bet he would love that!"

"I hope he will."

Just the the door swung open and Narumi came barging in with determination in her eyes. "Kaa-san make lots of ramen today!" she yelled as she went to her room to wait for dinner to be ready. Minato and Kushina were a little surprised by their daughter's action, but she did get it from her mother. "You think she thinking the same thing too?" said Minato curiously.

"It seems she notice too and feels the same." answered Kushina, then she notice that Naruto wasn't with Narumi nor he was home. "Hey where is Naruto-kun?" she asked wondering where her son could be at. Minato cringed when he heard this, hoping that he wasn't where he thinks he is. On cue, Naruto came thru the door with quite a few bruises and cuts on his arms and legs. He was favoring his left leg a bit. Kushina and Minato were in the kitchen but he still felt their chakra signature.

"Stupid, naive villagers can't tell the difference between the prisoner and jailor. I shouldn't have been caught but I over trained and was too tired to get away. That shouldn't have happened." Naruto quietly mumbled and walked to his room as quickly as possible. Kushina was shocked at Naruto's condition, while Minato narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. She quickly ran to him with Minato following shortly behind her. "Naruto!" Kushina shouted. Naruto turned around and to see Kushina and Minato both looking at him.

"Yes?" was Naruto's reply with his emotionless visage.

"What happen to you?" asked a worried Kushina looking at his cuts.

"Oh this... I did this by climbing a tree and slipped and fell down. I'm fine." She didn't want to leave him alone but guessing that he is fine she let him go.

"If your fine then go clean up and get changed for dinner." Naruto nodded and walked back to his room. As soon as he closed the door, Minato cursed." Damn blind villagers." Kushina heard him and was shocked at Minato.

"What do you mean, Minato-kun?"

"He didn't fall out of tree. The villagers most likely beat him." Minato said with much anger. Kushina looked appalled at someone beating her son. Then she felt anger build inside her, she was about to go out and show the village that you don't mess with a mother's child. Minato stopped her before she could go on a killing spree.

"Don't."

"LET GO! NO ONE MESSES WITH ANY CHILD OF MINE!"

"Calm down! You can't do anything. I been trying to stop them without executing them even though I believe they deserve it."

"Why can't you? You're the damn Hokage!"

"If I did that, then we would have civil riot going on that's why" Kushina didn't like it but she had to agree that would most likely happen. Especially with reports of the Uchiha clan planning a coup d'etat." She sighed, tried to calm herself. When Minato saw that she was calming down, he decided to continue.

"What I have been doing is throwing in jail for three months and charge a fine. But when, they are free and if they do it again, they get a two week stay with Ibiki." Kushina shuddered at that thought, then she realized something.

"Why didn't Naruto tell us about it? Doesn't he trust us?" She nearly was brought to tears with that. Minato pulled her into a hug and consoled. He sighed, he hated to see her like this. "What was done is done, we can't change the past but we can shape the future. Right now we need to bring our Naruto back into the family." She looked up at Minato and smiled and nodded.

When dinner came and Naruto came out of his room, with a shirt and shorts. When he arrived at the dining room, he notice that they were staring and waiting for him, with smiles on their faces. Which is odd because, Narumi would be devouring her like a beast, especially since its ramen. '_What the hell is going on? Did I hit my head that hard?'_ Naruto thought to himself. It just didn't make sense to him. The Kyuubi saw this and understood what they were trying to do. He chuckled inwardly, he could use this against the boy to make lose control and give him a chance to escape. Which is unlikely, the boy has too much control over emotions but better than none at all.

'**I guess they notice "_something_".' **Replied Kyuubi.

'_So it seems.'_ When Naruto got to his seat, he took out his chopsticks to eat. The second he ate his first bite, the rest started to eat theirs. Not breaking his eating stride, was wondering what the hell is going on to make them change so suddenly. He ponder this, and came with somewhat of an answer. '_So they, feel guilty, eh. Realizing that I exist, doesn't matter. I understand why, trying to make themselves feel better. Pretend to acknowledge my existence till they feel better than go back to normal. Well sorry, not gonna give that satisfaction.'_

"So Naruto-kun, how was your day?" Kushina asked who really wanted to know her son's day. Naruto, not batting an eyelash or looking up, realized what she was doing and felt great anger coming to the surface with the fox encouraging it to surface. Naruto shut them down as quickly as they appeared. He chuckled inwardly at the fox's attempt at freedom, but he still felt that he should give a piece of his mind.

"Nothing special." He replied in a quick, monotone voice and went back to his food. Kushina frowned at his answer and how he answered. Narumi quickly jumped in.

"So Aniki, what did you think of today's lesson?" She asked.

" A waste." He quickly replied finishing his ramen. She frowned at his answer, it felt as he didn't even want to talk to them. Minato watched the conversation or lack of one. He getting the same feeling as his daughter. Wanting to get him to talk. Hoping to break the ice with a joke.

"A waste? Really? Are the lessons _still _that boring?" asked Minato.

"Yes." was Naruto's simple reply.

"What were they teaching today?"

"The parts of Chakra and the elements."

"Well the theory is quite boring but the lesson is still important less-"

"You misunderstand. I never said the lesson was a waste." Naruto interrupted.

Minato rose an eyebrow in confusion and so did Kushina. Narumi was also confused because she thought it was so boring and useless. Minato was curious on what he meant. "So what did you mean then Naruto?" asked Minato.

"It was a waste of time because I already know it." Naruto then walked over to the sink and started to wash his dish. Shocked that he already knew it a supposedly advance subject, Kushina broke out of her trance and saw Naruto about to wash his dish.

"Naruto, I'll wash it for you, you dont have to, ok." Said Kushina. Naruto continued to wash his dish.

"Its fine, I don't to burden you or waste any time of yours. I'm able to take care of myself." He replied without a glance at his 'mother'. Shocked at her son's reply, started to get depressed and tears started to gather in her eyes. Minato was just as shocked as Kushina and also felt depressed. '_He thinks he's nothing to this family.'_ They both thought, with a fire in their eyes, that was going to change no matter what.

As Naruto finished cleaning his dish they finish eating their ramen. Since they were eating ramen they finished it quick. Naruto started to walk back to his room till his father called him to the living room and said that they were having a family meeting. '_Such irony'_ Naruto thought but went to the living regardless. Saw that his mother and sister were sitting on the sofa, leaving a spot for him to sit between them, while Minato sat across from them. He raised his eyebrow slightly at their attempt to bring him in. So he decided to lean against the wall next to the them. Kushina, Minato and Narumi frowned at this, but their determination didn't falter to bring him back. Minato decided to start it off.

"Naruto, me and your mother have some news that you'll like." Said Minato. Naruto stared at him with his glacier-like eyes, making him flinch slightly but continued. "After your birthday, tomorrow we will starting your training in the family styles." He said. Kushina nodded with a smile, believing that it worked.

"Does that mean Aniki will be training with me?" a hopeful Narumi asked. Both Kushina and Minato nodded and Narumi glowed with happiness. Minato looked at Naruto and was shocked at him. His face was still cold and expressionless, his eyes, unlike his bright sapphire eyes, his were frozen glaciers. His face didn't twitch, even the slightest. Both Kushina and Narumi were shocked too, both thought that Naruto would be happy that he was finally getting to train. Kushina was certain that this would work.

"Naruto-nii-chan aren't you excited? We can now train together!" exclaimed a confused Narumi. Naruto turned his cold dead eyes at her.

"No. I'm not. Should I be?" he stated in monotone voice.

"Why Naruto? Don't you want to learn our taijutsu styles? Don't you want to be strong like me and your father?" asked Kushina trying to get Naruto to reconsider.

"Naruto, why don't want to train with us?" asked Minato, trying to figure out he doesn't want to train with them.

"I gave up on learning from your styles when you refused to teach me when you began to teach Narumi." Minato and Kushina were shocked and curious why their son didn't want to learn their style and jutsus and be strong like them. Broken out of their thoughts when Naruto spoke. " You didn't want to train me then so why start now? I'm coming along quite well without you." stated Naruto in a neutral tone. Both his parents, were greatly saddened and hurt when he said that. But before they could reply, "Which brings up another question, why do want train me now? I have a few of my own theories on why you would. Guilt is the first. You feel guilty that you neglected my training so you offered to train but would stop as soon as you felt better. Second, is perception. As Hokage and clan-head, it would look bad if any child of yours wasn't strong or was weak. Finally is the village. If one of the village's '_weapons', _" Minato and Kushina cringed when he said that and were appalled that their son would think like that. " was defective or not adequately trained; _'it' _would not be able to be used for the village." Naruto finished without a single twitch of a muscle or inflection of his voice. His family was wide-eyed and mouths agape. They were stunned and disturbed by their son/brother's rant. They were thinking a mile a second trying to comprehend on what he said. Naruto seeing that they weren't going to saying soon, decided to head to his room.

"Well if that is all then, I'll head to my room. Good night." Naruto finished and went to his room leaving his '_family_' shell shocked at his rant. Kushina and Narumi started to break down and cry. Minato ,comforting both crying girls, trying to understand why would Naruto draw to such conclusions, he look down at both Kushina and Narumi. Narumi babbling 'Why Aniki? why?'. Kushina in a similar state as his daughter. He decided to take them upstairs and put them to bed. He first drops off Narumi to her room then Kushina to theirs. He puts Kushina on the bed and sees her face and eyes red and puffy from crying. She looks up and says "What do we do now?"

Minato sighs and looks up at the ceiling "I don't know. For once I don't have a clue on what to do." He looks back down at her and moves to sit next to her. Stares at her, uncertainty and doubt in his eyes. "I just don't know. The only thing I know is... I'm not gonna give up on bringing him back." proclaimed Minato. The doubt and uncertainty gone from his eyes replaced with raw determination. Kushina sees this, her resolve to get her son back renewed by her husband. Both settling on their renewed determination, decided to go to bed.

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><p><strong>Damn that took me awhile Sorry bout that. work and school. But a please review. Will try to get to get next chapters up sooner.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, thanks for reviews. No there won't be any incest or leaving the village. Pairings are still undecided or if there will be any. He won't hate his family but will be indifferent to them. Itachi-like Naruto.

Disclaimer: I don't own naruto

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><p><strong>Next Morning<strong>

Naruto woke up, remembering about last night's _discussion _brought back all the anger, rage, and pain of it. He turned to the calendar and saw today was his and Narumi's birthday. '_Sigh. Not that it ever feels like a birthday but it could be worst.' _Deciding to forget this thought, Naruto looked at his clock, it was 6:27. He might as well train to clear his head. Naruto did his morning routine and got dressed and quietly left since the rest of his family would still be asleep till 9. But left a note on the kitchen counter saying where he was and when he'll be back, with that done left to train or blow off steam.

The Namikaze family began to wake up 5 minutes till 9 and started their morning routines. After Kushina finished, she headed down to start breakfast, followed soon by her husband. "Good Morning Minato-kun."said Kushina. Minato smiled and went to his wife. "Good Morning Kushina-chan." replied Minato as he gave her a hug and kiss. As the scent of breakfast spreads through the house, they hear Narumi rush down the stairs. "Good Morning, Tou-san! Kaa-san! Its mine and Naruto's birthday!" shouted Narumi. Minato and Kushina both smiled at their daughter's antics but notice Naruto isn't down yet. Which is odd, cause he usual one of the first ones awake. Minato noticed that there was a note of the table and grab it as Kushina said " Narumi-chan can you go wake up your brother, please."

" That won't be needed. He went out for a walk. He left a note, here look." Both of them stood behind Minato to read what the note said.

_Went out for a morning walk. Will be back by 10.  
>-Naruto<em>

Kushina and Narumi frowned seeing Naruto won't be joining them for breakfast. Minato sighed at this but remained hopeful.

"He may be thinking about last night and trying to figure what to do. Let's give him space to think." said Minato. Kushina gave a small smile and nodded and served breakfast. Narumi gave a grin and started to eat. Minato smiled at his daughter. He looked out the window with a thoughtful expression, truly hoping that Naruto is considering.

**Secluded training ground**

A gentle breeze blew through the peaceful training ground, until it broken by a clang of metal. Naruto stood behind a tree trying to locate his attackers. '_ Maybe pushing my resistant seal to six and blindfolding myself wasn't such a great idea. Oh well, no pain no gain.' _He sensed one of his clones trying to flank his position. He pushed his range to locate any others and could only find 4 of out 10. Before the clone could even launch his attack, Naruto struck it down like lightning and continued with his assault. Without wasting any weapons or movement, they all fell. But before he could rest, he heard a kunai slicing through the air and the sizzling of a paper bomb.

Naruto dodged but came under attack by 3 clones while the remaining 2 supported their assault with long range attacks. '_Clever. A two stage attack. But not good enough.'_ His clones were quite relentless, covering each others opens and keep him on the defensive plus their support. He was suffering a few hits but as much as expected but enough of this game.

He reached into his pouch and pulled out a flash bomb and threw it. Just as it went off, a split second later he threw two shuriken at the support and charged the three close ranged. They were finished before the flash bomb went out. Naruto jumped to the ground and breathed out a sigh of relief but all of sudden, felt a chakra spike. He turned towards it and bit back a curse, one of the clones use a **Kawarimi no jutsu**(Substitution Jutsu).

" **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **(Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu)!" the clone said, one shuriken became sixty-five. Thinking quick on his feet, Naruto pulled out a single kunai and ran to cover behind a tree. He charged the kunai with wind chakra, threw the kunai at tree the clone was behind, it hit and went through one tree and pierced the clone through the head continue through another tree and stop at it with the handle sticking out.

Naruto pushing his sensor ability to the limit, barely reaching 250 meters, making sure all the clones were gone. He relaxed when he found none, he took off his blind fold. Then walked over to his stuff over by a tree. Grab the water and began to drink it. " You let your guard down little." A voice abruptly said. Naruto continued to drink without giving a hint that he was surprised. He looked up to see his sensei in his ANBU attire, Itachi standing in the tree above him. "Yes, I did but not completely at least." Naruto said.

"True, but in the shinobi world you can't afford to, even for a second." Itachi replied with his normal stoic face. Silence continued for a few more moments before Itachi spoke again. " Your skills are progressing quite well. You completed the exercise in amount of good time. What level is the seal at right now?" Itachi asked curious about his student's training.

Finished getting his stuff together Naruto replied, " I raised to the sixth level, just before starting." Naruto looked at his sensei, still showing no emotion on his face. Itachi closed his eyes and spoke " The sixth? Hn. And I assume the blind fold is to train your sensor skill to be used in the heat of battle. Correct?"

Naruto gave a small smirk at his sensei's deduction of his training exercise and nodded to say he was correct. Itachi while not showing anything outward. Inwards... he was impressed with his unofficial student. ' _His skills are improving greatly. While it was easy to see how much the sixth level slowed him down, plus blind folding forcing himself to rely sole on his sensor ability. Most sensors have to stay in a single spot and focus. But for him to use it in battle like this, Naruto has pretty much a Hyūga's 360 degree vision without the blind spot. And his wind manipulation skill in impressive, not quite at Asuma's or Danzo's level but still good.' _Itachi thought. He looked at his student and gave an almost unnoticeable smirk. " You're on your way to be a fine shinobi of Konoha. I'm proud, Naruto-kun." Itachi praised.

Naruto beamed at the praise from his sensei and role model. " Hai, thank you, Itachi-sensei. I apologize but, I must return home. Will you be at the party tonight?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. Sasuke, me, and mother will be there. Father won't due to the increase of security." Itachi replied. Naruto nodded and continued to walk home. Itachi watched Naruto leave before **Shunshin** (Body flicker jutsu) out of the area to his home. To rest from his mission before the party.

**Namikaze House**

After breakfast was finished, Minato stayed to clean up and wait for Naruto while Kushina helped Narumi get ready for gathering at the Hyūga compound. Minato looked up at the clock, seeing that it was 9:55. Letting out a sigh, his thoughts drift to his son. About what he said last night and how he said it. '_Why Naruto consider himself a weapon? Konoha has never used its jinchūriki as weapons as the other villages have. Where would get those thoughts from?' _He thought. He knows Danzo has not had any contact with him, having his ANBU and Sarutobi watch him. Before he could continue this line of thinking, he heard the front door open and close. He saw Naruto.

"Naruto! There still is some breakfast left, if your hungry." Minato called to Naruto. Naruto looked at Minato and bowed. " Yes I am. Thank you." Naruto said. Minato kept his smile up, but inward he was frowning at the bow. There was no need for it at all. Letting out a sigh, he finish cleaning up and looked at Naruto eating. Decided to make small talk. "So Naruto, how was your walk?" Minato asked.

"It was calming." Naruto replied without looking up from his breakfast. Minato nodded simply at the response.

"After you finish eating Naruto, don't forget to get dress for the party at the Hyūga compound." Minato said. Naruto gave a simply nod and took his plate over to the sink to wash.

"Naruto, I got it. Don't worry about it." Minato said.

" It's not a problem. I don't wish to be a burden." Naruto said as he washed the plate and left to get cleaned up and ready. Minato watched his son with frown on his face. He sighed and decided to get ready to go to the Hyūga compound.

**Hyūga Compound**

The Namikaze family walked over to the front of the compound ,with Naruto trying to stay in by a couple feet. They were greeted by a Branch member and lead them to where the party was. The clan heads of the Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Inuzuka, and Uchiha were there with their immediate family. Minato and Kushina told both Naruto and Narumi to go and play with their friends. Narumi gave a huge grin and ran over to Ino and Hinata while Naruto just gave a slight nod and walked off to sit under a tree and began to meditate. Both Minato and Kushina frowned at Naruto and wondered why Naruto went to sit by himself.

Minato looked over at Kushina ."I'll talk to him. Go and chat with your friends. I'll find out whats wrong." Minato said with a reassuring smile. Kushina smiled and nodded, walking over to Mikoto, Tsume and Yoshino.

Minato looked over at Naruto and walked over to the tree he was meditating under. "Hey Naruto, why don't you play with your friends over there?" Minato asked and pointing over to Kiba, Shikamaru and Chōji.

Naruto stopped meditating and looked at his father with a blank look. He sighed and leaned back on the tree and replied. " I would..." Minato waited for him to finish but inside he knew the answer why but hoped he was wrong. "... if I had any. But I don't." Naruto finished.

" Well, why don't you go over and introduce yourself to them? I'm sure they would let you join them." Minato replied.

"I have tried at school. They weren't interested. If that is all I would like to continue my meditation, please." Naruto said and closed his eyes.

Minato stared at his son and sighed and walked over to Kushina. She looked at him and he shook his head and gave the silent message '_I'll tell you later'_. Kushina looked at Naruto and frowned at him separated from the others. She resolved to find out after the party.

Naruto continued to focus on his sensor ability, always trying to improve range and the strength of it. In battle, he hit a wall of 35 meters but when focused, he could reach 250 meters. Naruto was attempting to pick up every little detail he can within his range and push past that. Progress has been slow but, Naruto never gave up on it.

He mentally sighed as he sensed his father and mother glance at him every so often. It was grating on his nerves on what they were trying to do. And now his sister is walk over to him now, great.

"Nii-san, why don't you come play with me and my friends?" Narumi asked. Naruto opened one eye and looked at her. He raised his right hand slowly and... poked her on the forehead with his index and middle finger.

"Sorry but, no thank you. I just wish to meditate." Naruto said and went back to training his sensor ability.

Narumi rubbed her forehead where she was poked. "But that is sooooo boring? Why would you want to sit and do nothing then play?" Narumi asked.

Naruto just continued to meditate without answering her. Narumi sighed and walked back over to where Ino and Hinata were playing. She gave one last look at Naruto then went back to playing.

Minato and Kushina both looked over at their children's interaction of each other. They can't seem to figure out what's wrong with Naruto. They both looked over at all the children playing and enjoying themselves except one Hyūga boy. Minato looked at the boy and thought he looks familiar.

"Hiashi, who's the boy over there?" Minato asked. Hiashi looks at the boy and a slight grimace crosses his face.

"That's Neji. Hizashi's son and my nephew." Hiashi stated solemnly. Minato also gained a solemn expression. He could have stopped his death but, only by going to war. And with the Kyuubi attack, they just didn't have the manpower to fight again.

Both of them looked at Neji and Naruto, respectively. Wondering how they could get through them both and their problems. Neji with his festering hatred of the main branch. Naruto with him believing his nothing but a weapon.

Neji standing off to the side and watching Hinata-sama play with her friends without a care. While have a stoic expression, cursed inwardly. He could be training right now but he has to watch over Hinata-_sama _as his _duty _as a branch member. He look at her play with friends without a care in the world, but in his peripheral his a boy just sitting under a tree sitting in the lotus position. Neji simply ignored the boy and continued to watch Hinata-sama.

Naruto notice Neji stand across the yard watching over the girls. He knew about the Hyūga clan's Juinjutsu on the branch family. The tiniest of scowls touched his face, the simple barbarism of it. To enslave your family and to end them with a single hand sign. Naruto continued to meditate until his family decided to leave to prepare for the party later to tonight.

**Namikaze Household**

At six o'clock, everyone started coming form the Uchiha, Sarutobi, Hyūga, and various other people came to celebrate Narumi's birthday. Naruto mainly stood off to the side during the party. His parents and sister kept on trying to pull him into the party but he kept on avoiding them or stating '_that it is not his place to participate'. _ While watching the festivities go on from the wall he was leaning against, he barely was able to sense Itachi sneak up on him.

"Hello sensei. Are enjoying the party?" Asked Naruto without turning around. Itachi, unfazed that he was sensed, gave a simply nod and watched the party go on. " What about yourself?" He asked and turned his eyes to his unofficial apprentice to see his expression. "Yes I am." Naruto replied. Itachi saw no change in his facial expression but his eyes told him everything he needed to know. The longing to be apart of it; to join in the festivities to drop their guard and have fun. But they couldn't, they both understood what their roles were in life to live in shadow and your deeds go unknown and _unappreciated_.

"I have a gift for you." Itachi suddenly said. Naruto turned to Itachi with shocked expression. He then pulled a box from behind his back and handed it to Naruto. Naruto opened the box and it had three scrolls and metal forearm guards. Each scroll was marked with red for one, blue for another and green for the last one. " Each scroll contains C-rank jutsu. **Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu **(Fire release: Phoenix Flower jutsu), **Suiton:Mizu Tatsumaki **(Water release: Tornado of Water), and **Fūton: Daitoppa **(Wind release: Great Breakthrough)." Naruto looked at the gifts he just received then gave Itachi a huge hug saying thank you. Itachi was momentarily shocked but quickly collected himself. Then he placed one hand on Naruto's head and patted his head with a small smile on his face. Both of them enjoying the moment together.

"Well there you boys are. Hiding in the way back here." Mikoto said to the boys slightly startling them. She turned to Naruto and smiled while handing his gift. "Here you Naruto-kun." Naruto gave a smile while Itachi schooled his features to his normal stoic expression. Naruto took the gift and thanked her while opening it. The contents of it was four black open-front aprons with white flames on the bottom(1). Naruto gave Mikoto a big hug and thanked her greatly for it. Naruto thanked both of them again and decided to go to his room to try his new clothes. Mikoto and Itachi watched Naruto go up stairs to his room. Mikoto turned back to the party and spotted the rest of the Namikaze family. A scowl marred her beautiful face as saw how happy they were completely oblivious to son/brother. Itachi saw the scowl on his mother's face and sighed mentally. '_ While I'm glad Kaa-san is show Naruto some motherly love but, she is favoring the coup d'etat now. She almost convinced Tou-san to forget about the whole thing but now... If this escalates any further, drastic actions will be needed.' _Itachi thought grimly.

With Naruto, he went to his room and put on black sweats and a gray shirt with his new forearm guards leaving the battle apron for later. He made sure he had everything before heading out to do some late night training. He ran over to his normal training ground but unbeknownst to him was spotted by a squad of Iwa-nin that has infiltrated the village during the festival. They were about to leave but spotted Naruto heading to off somewhere, all but the leader dismissed the child. But the leader saw a flash of yellow and panicked having witnessed the Yellow Flash in action during the Third Shinobi War at Kanabi Bridge, but relaxed when he realized it was only a child but an evil smirk appear on his face thinking how they can kill the son of the Yellow Flash. He turned to his squad of Tokubetsu Jōnin to address them. " Men, we're gonna make a slight detour before we head out." He said.

"Why taicho?" One of the men asked.

"That child was the son of _Konoha's no Kiiroi Senkō." _And with that the squad took off towards there new target and revenge.

**Secret Training Ground**

Naruto unaware of the current danger heading towards him, opened up the red scroll and began read the technique. He began to memorize the hand seals first, then read how the technique was performed and also all the side notes Itachi made. As he was reading the side notes he felt a chakra signature enter the area, without taking his eyes off the scroll began to feel for the signature. He spotted the signature 82 meters away at 5 o'clock but also spotted three more coming from 6, 3, and 10. Realizing that he was caught in ambush by an unknown enemy, he scanned their chakra levels. Three had mid to high level Chūnin level reserves while the leader and easily had mid to high jōnin level reserves. As they slowly moved towards him, Naruto put the scroll away and prepared a **Kawarimi no Jutsu **(Substitution justu).

As soon as the squad was in position, the leader gave the signal. All three unleashed a barrage of kunai and shuriken upon Naruto. Naruto pulled out a kunai and started to deflect and dodge them but was getting pushed back into their 'trap'. The leader gave a nod to his team and went thru a set of hand signs and called out.

"**Doton: Doryūheki **(Earth Release: Mud Wall)!" And a giant wall of mud rose up and block Naruto from going any further. Just as his back touched the wall, four kunai with explosive tags attach hit the wall and blew him up, just seconds after three more walls came up to shield them and contain the blast. The infiltration squad moved to the epicenter of the explosion to see the remains as the leader brought down the walls. The three subordinates all and evil smirks believing the boy to have been killed but the leader felt something was wrong. As a veteran of the Third Shinobi War, Sumashi learned to trust his gut when he felt that a situation wasn't right. He heard several kunai coming at them. "SCATTER!" Sumashi yelled out. Only two were able to react in time to avoid the attack. The last man turned towards the attack only to have kunai pierce his forehead and chest for an instant survivors grouped back up and looked at their fallen ally but dismissed him in favor of search for the bastard.

"What are shinobi of Iwa doing here?" Naruto asked suddenly. The Iwa-nins turned towards where the voice and saw him standing on a branch, looked at them as if they were nothing of importance.

"How did you escape our ambush? There was no way you could have known we were there unless you were a Hyūga!"one of tokubetsu jōnin shouted. Naruto did not replied instead analyzed the situation he was currently in.' _I'm outnumbered but they seem to __underestimate my abilities. I lowered the seal to five to bring my speed back to normal. I have only one shot to surprise them with my full speed…best to keep that for later. The weaker members will have to go first, my clones are spread out ready to **Kawarimi **with me at the drop of a hat. I have the hand seals memorized for **Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu, **but its untested. It will have to be a last resort.…How do I keep on finding myself in these situations anyhow?'_Naruto threw a single shuriken and called out "**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." **One became sixty-five.

Sumashi and another jumped out of the way due to they were at the edge of the attack but one couldn't dodge. Knowing he could only block, he ran thru a set of hand signs, he called out "**Doton: Doryūheki**!" And a wall of mud rose to protect him from death. His comrades smirk at his quick thinking. Naruto quickly located his position behind the wall, he took out a single kunai charged it with wind chakra and threw while calling out "**Futon: Reppusho **(Wind release: Gale Palm)". The Iwa-nin behind the wall heard the jutsu being called, kept his wall till the attack was done knowing such a pathetic jutsu won't pierce his defense. Sumashi immediately knew what the was doing, but was too slow in warning his subordinate. As such, he received a hole in his chest about the size of a man's fist. Choking, he let out a single gasp and fell with a pool of blood surrounding him. The last two Iwa-nins stood there shocked at the death of their fellow shinobi. The last tokubetsu jōnin growled at the bastard and charged at Naruto calling for blood.

"TAKE THIS YOU FUCKING BASTARD! **Doton: Dochūbaku! **(Earth Release: Landslide)" A landslide rush at Naruto with great speed. Sumashi tried to get his subordinate to calm down but was interrupted by seven doppelgängers assaulting him. He realized the boy's plan now. '_He's trying to keep us __separated and off balance! And we have been playing right into his hands. This kid is not your average runt. I have to stop underestimating him and treat him as a jōnin level threat.'_

Back with Naruto, he successfully separated the last two but had a new problem to deal with now, an enraged enemy. Currently engaged in a battle of taijutsu. His current thoughts were on where the hell was the damn ANBU?! All those explosions should have warranted a search of the area. But back at the fight, Naruto took stock of the situation of the battle. Jōnin distracted by clones, check. Separated and isolated weak link, check. Death of said weak link… not check. Weak link or not, the man's taijutsu skill was good. Naruto glanced over at his clones with chakra sensing and cursed. Only three left out of the original seven, need to end this quickly. He focused back at his fight and saw his opponent charging him with a kunai but noticed a small amount of earth chakra in it. Naruto decided meet him with his own chakra charged kunai. Both kunai clashed, both trying to establish dominance. The Iwa-nin gave Naruto an evil smirk as he was slowly pushing Naruto back. Just as the Iwa-nin was gonna give one last push, his kunai was sliced at hilt. Thrown off balance from the struggle, Naruto gave one slash and nearly severed his body from the waist. The man was dead before he hit the floor. Naruto turned to see his last clone destroyed.

Sumashi looked at the last of his subordinates fall to a mere boy. He looked at the boy in contempt but control emotions. "You are good boy. As expected from the child of _Kiiroi no Senkō." _Sumashi said. Naruto raised a single eyebrow at his opponent when he recognize who he was. Sumashi gave small chuckle." I know who you are boy. You are the spawn of that _man_. Didn't know he had a child but doesn't matter now. I will be rewarded for ending the life for his only child." Sumashi finished. Naruto kept his expression blank during his little monologue, but inside was completely different. His thoughts were racing at thousand miles a second. '_Only child? They don't know about Narumi. If that is so then he needs to die, I can't allow him to leave with informing Iwa. I won't allow Narumi be targeted for any assassination attempt.' _ Naruto promised.

Drawing out two kunai and holding them reverse grip began charging wind chakra through them. Sumashi realized that the time for talk is over, drawing out a tantō and charge earth chakra through it. As single leaf blew between them they charge at each other with making their weapons clash. Sumashi easily over powers Naruto and kicks him in the chest hard. Attempting to recover from a powerful blow, Naruto was barely able to dodge the next assault. Seeing that he can not hold against the Iwa-jōnin, he quickly **Kawarimi **with a clone to create some distance and went thru hand seals for a jutsu. "**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu **(Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu)!" Naruto shouted. Sumashi turned and saw the giant fireball coming at him. It quickly engulfed him, but Naruto did not drop his guard for a second. Focusing on his sensing, quickly found out that he was only thirty meters away and closing in from underground. Cursing himself for not having any explosive tags to unearth his opponent, so he prepared a **Kawarimi **for caution. So Naruto patiently waited for him to make the first move, making sure to keep him in front of him. Out of no where he heard kunai slicing through the air behind him. Naruto turned and deflected them away and turned back around to see Sumashi launching out at him aiming for his heart with a kunai. Naruto blocked the kunai but not the hard kick aimed at his stomach. Launching him into a tree and breaking it. Naruto trying retain consciousness from the blow, he looked up to see Sumashi slowly approach him with an evil grin while playing with a kunai in hand. "This is the end for you, boy." Sumashi said as he raised the kunai. Just as he was about to throw it, he felt a disturbance and looked up and saw a giant ball of fire descending on him.

**Ten minutes earlier with ****Itachi**

Itachi watched the party gone from the shadows, having no wish to stay here. Maybe he should join Naruto in training, at least he won't be bored. He quickly left without anybody noticing and leisurely tree hopped to the training ground. All while thinking on what to do with his clan, now that his best friend Shisui is gone. It is left up to him to protect the village. Both from the threats outside and inside. Itachi was broken from his line of thoughts, he detected a substantial amount of chakra. Itachi may not be the best sensor but he distinguish that it is not only Naruto's in the area but other foreign chakra. Increasing his speed towards Naruto, he saw fire in the distance recognizing it as the **Gōkakyū no Jutsu. **Just as he saw the shinobi raise the kunai to finish Naruto, he applied **Magen: Jigoku Kōka no Jutsu **(Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell Technique) on the shinobi and rushed him and snapped his neck. Itachi gave the corpse one glance and turned to view the training ground and returned his view on Naruto to see him with a little blood leaking from his mouth and him clutching his stomach.

"... Please explain how this happened again." Itachi inquired. Naruto gave a small shrug as to not aggravate his injuries. '_Definitely gonna be sore for the next few days.' _Naruto mused. Itachi continued to stare at him until he sighed in defeat. Giving up on why Naruto was magnet for danger. He looked at all the bodies and gathered them up burnt the bodies to destroy the evidence and walked back over to Naruto and stopped a few feet away. Naruto watched Itachi go about destroying the bodies and him stop in front of him. They stared at each other for several moments, waiting for one of them to break the silence. Itachi closed his eyes and opened them again and looked at the moon.

"I must go through with it." Itachi stated, giving Naruto a sideways glance. Naruto raised his eyebrow, confused at his statement. Itachi saw his confusion and clarified for him. "As Shinobi, we must protect the Village from any threats. Both external and internal." Itachi stated while looking at the moon hoping Naruto understand what he is trying to say. Naruto pondered on what Itachi was saying to him. He thought about for only second or two before it came to him. He looked up at his sensei at what he was trying to say. "You are going to kill them, right? Your clan." Naruto asked solemnly. Itachi only nodded to his question. "Is there no other way to stop it? I your Kaa-san was about stop it."

"Kaa-san almost convinced Tou-san to give up on the whole idea but, went with it in the end." Itachi replied.

"What?! Why?" Naruto questioned. Itachi remained silent for a moment before replying.

"Because of you."

"Me? How did I affect her choice?"

"She saw how your family was treating you. She saw your pain, sorrow and loneliness. She wanted to give you the love every child should have. She wanted to give you a better life." Itachi explained to his student. Naruto was shell-shocked at the realization. "They will die because of me. She will die because of me." Naruto sorrowfully said.

"No, they will die because of their arrogance. Not because of you. If must blame anyone, blame my tou-san and the clan elders." Naruto nodded at his sensei's words and asked.

"When?"

"Within the next week or so."

"… Will I ever see you agin?"

"Yes….. But the next time we meet it will be on opposite sides of the field. And when that time comes, I hope you can provide a challenge for me. For I will not hold back." Itachi said while looking at Naruto and activating his Sharingan to get his point across. Naruto met his sensei's gaze with eyes full of fiery determination. Naruto began to stand, ignoring the pain from his stomach and grabbed a kunai in his left hand and ran the blade across his right hand. Clenching his right hand, he held it out as the blood leaked out. " I swear to you, that will not only be your equal but will stronger. And that is a promise! I never go back on my word! That is my Nindo!" Naruto yelled. Itachi turned his gaze back to the moon with small smile. Imagining what the future has for his student. _  
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><p><strong>And end. I do apologize for how long it took me to write this chapter. Well to start it really. I promise the next one will not take so long. The next chapter will start at the Genin exams and will flashback to the Massacre and the Academy. So thank you all for encouraging me to finish.<strong>**  
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